Friday, 19 December 2014

Guest Blogger ~ AKM Miles: Something MORE for Santa

Blurb:

While
on a break at Martin's Department Store, Derek Campbell, aka Santa, wishes
aloud for a little something for Santa and he gets it, and more.

Derek Campbell loves his job as Santa at
Martin's, but finds himself wishing for a little something for himself. He's
surprised when an elf hears his request and answers him. Derek gets more than
he bargained for when he meets young Michael and then Max, who just happens to
own Martin's. He falls in love with both of them and they him, but something
happens, something bad. But, they're strong, together, and they have a good
Christmas. But then, even worse things happen. What now? What follows is a
wonderful holiday story filled with love, adventure, fear, hope, and kittens.

Once upon a time there was a sweet young
man who worked as Santa during the season. One day, while on a break he was
lamenting the fact that he had no one to love and wanted someone perfect for
him, he was overheard by an elf. Well, it was really a boy. The little boy,
Michael, wanted Santa to help his father, who had a migraine, _(main headache).
Derek, (Santa) went with the boy to the main offices of the department store
and did, indeed, help the boy's father, Max. Then wonderful and horrible things
started to happen. The two men fell in love, both loved the boy greatly, but
there was ugliness even at Christmastime. Someone did something bad to Michael
and when they got that cleared they had a great Christmas with Betsy Ross and
Sara Lee.

Not long after that something horrible
happened to Derek, who now worked more closely with Max, who just happened to
own that department store chain. Who would want to kill someone as sweet as
Derek? You know there's a happy ending, but it takes some work to get there.
But, of course, it's all worth it.

I loved writing this story and always in
the back of my mind I wanted to revisit these people. They were all three so
lovable. When I decided to place it with
MLR I added enough that it doubled in size. I really like where it went and how
I ended it. (I really wanted them to go on that cruise!) I know a lot of people
liked the first book and I added MORE to the title so they would know it was
the same only more. I hope everyone loves the rest of the story as well.

~AKM Miles

***love is love***

Excerpt:

Derek closed his eyes and
sighed. He needed the rest, there was no doubt of that. He felt like he'd run a
marathon and he'd just been talking.

"Daddy, look at the bag.
Derek peed a lot!"

"Shh, Michael." Derek
could hear the humor in Max's voice. He didn't want to think about the
catheter, but well, it wasn't like he could get up. He waited until they were
sitting beside the bed and then he said,

"Where's my hug? And quit
looking at my pee."

"Daddy! He said something.
Did you hear him? He said 'where's my hug?'. Do you think he means me?"
Michael was no longer using his quiet voice. His surprise and happiness had him
back to the Michael that Derek knew.

"I bet he does. Okay, you
still have to be careful, okay? He might be awake, but he's still in pain. No
moving around," Max said and Derek could hear him lift Michael up and put
the boy beside him. He sighed. He tried to bring his arm up to hug Michael, but
his shoulder screamed out in pain.

"Michael, be careful,
honey."

"No," Derek said, his
voice still raspy, "it was me. I tried to hug him back but my shoulder
hurts." He opened his eyes and Max's face was right there. Max leaned down
and touched his lips gently, making Derek sigh in complete happiness.

"You're right, I don't.
I'll be careful." Max turned away and Derek nearly whimpered, but he saw
that Max was bringing the chair closer. He sat and took Derek's hand and held
it in his, squeezing gently. That touch, that light squeeze, said so many
things. It said, "I want to hold you, I love you, you scared me, we were
worried, we're here for you."

"I know." He answered
all the unsaid statements and Max didn't even question it.

Michael asked, "Are you
going to stay awake now, Derek?"

About AKM:

I love to read M/M
books. It’s hard to find me without my Kindle in my hand. I never want to lose
an opportunity to read and have so many authors that I enjoy. The idea of being
an author that readers enjoy fills my heart. I’ve wanted to write since I was
in high school and I did. I wrote a short story for the school newspaper.
Hooked.

I wrote three
mainstream novels and got rejections and just kind of lost interest. Then along
came Brokeback Mountain and I ordered the movie and got the script with it.
Loved it. Then I went on line to see if there way anything else like it. I
found Cowboy Up from Torquere Press. It was an anthology and had such good
stories. I was more than hooked. I wanted to do this. I wanted to write a
story. Soon after that I went to a drag show in my little town, heretofore
unheard of, and watched these two guys dance. That scene is in my first novel,
Smart Alex. I couldn’t stop then.

You will find that I
like to have my characters meet, have feeling for each other, start a
relationship, and then face some kind of conflict together, instead of it being
about whether they really like each other or not. That’s just the way I like
it. I want them as a unit facing whatever comes. I also like to do series. I
try to populate my books with wonderful side characters that just beg for their
own stories. Life is full of side characters, right? Sometimes they just need
their story told, too. (And then you get to revisit the first couple and see
how things are going!)

I now write for four
different publishing houses and love being an M/M author. Want to know what I
like most about it? Oh, I love getting good critiques from places who
specialize in that, but it’s the readers who blow me away. I can’t believe the
response I’ve gotten to some of my books. They inspire me and make me want to
do more and better. I love love some of the connections with people in the
industry.

Through ups and
downs this career has kept me going with the warmth I’ve received from other
authors, publishing people, and fans. I’m excited about future books that are
swimming in my head right now. I hope you love them, too.